Here's What Tim Ferriss Wishes He Knew About Money In His 20s

Tim Ferriss is a
best-selling author and angel investor.Courtesy of Tim Ferriss

Tim Ferriss seems to have his life down to a science.

He has mastered his career, his fitness routine, and even his
food preparation, as detailed in his books "The 4-Hour Workweek," "The
4-Hour Body," and "The
4-Hour Chef." But Ferriss, an angel investor and best-selling
author, hasn't always known everything.

When we asked him what he wishes he'd known about money in his
20s, Ferriss shared the following:

In your 20s, optimize for learning, not earning. Work directly
under or with master dealmakers, and acquire skills. This is
particularly true for negotiating and hard skills like coding.

What would you rather have: $20,000 more per year in your 20s,
leading to making $100,000 to $200,000 a year in your 30s, or a
lower-paying job from 20 to 25 — but one like a real-world
MBA you're paid for — leading to making
millions in your 30s?

It often comes down to prioritizing skill acquisition over
immediate postcollege earning. McKinsey or Goldman can be
seductive, but it's easy to get trapped in a 20-plus-year path of
paying for a bloated lifestyle that is always a bit more
expensive than the year before. Serfs can become self-made kings,
but consultants tend to remain consultants. The only true job
security is a superior skill set.

Interestingly, "role-related knowledge" was highlighted as one of
the four categories on which
Google job applicants are graded. As often as we hear that
charisma, charm, and overall personality are career determinants,
Ferriss points out that there's another critical factor at play:
being really damn good at your job.